420: The Jewel Thief

Summary

True Crime Obsessed - Episode 420: The Jewel Thief

Release Date: April 1, 2025

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Introduction

In Episode 420 of True Crime Obsessed titled "The Jewel Thief," hosts Julia Betavalli and Patrick Hines delve into the intricate and bizarre case of Gerald Daniel Blanchard, a Canadian criminal mastermind known for his elaborate thefts and manipulative demeanor. Blanchard's story, characterized by audacious heists and a complex relationship with law enforcement and family, offers a compelling narrative that the duo unpacks with their signature humor, sass, and heartfelt insights.

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Overview of "The Jewel Thief" Documentary

Julia Betavalli opens the discussion with excitement about the documentary’s unique presentation:

Julia Betavalli (02:04): "The story of a conniving, creative, intelligent man committing frauds that were fairy Tal."

The documentary portrays Blanchard as both charismatic and highly intelligent, likening him to the "Chuck Norris of Canada" and even the "new James Bond" (00:00). However, as the episode progresses, Julia and Patrick reveal the stark contrast between his charming facade and his true nature as an insufferable and manipulative individual.

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Gerald Blanchard's Criminal Ventures

Blanchard's criminal career is highlighted by a series of meticulously planned thefts:

• Early Crimes and Methods:

  Blanchard began his criminal activities at a young age, with his first major offense occurring when he was just 15. He employed ingenious techniques, such as manipulating cash registers and fabricating receipts to conceal his thefts.

  Patrick Hines (16:24): "He was breaking into cash registers, stealing the receipts, and then faking using that to, like, 1987 version of Photoshop and making new receipts."

• Notable Heists:

  One of his most audacious crimes involved stealing a diamond brooch from an Austrian museum. The documentary emphasizes his ability to deceive and outsmart security measures, making his acts resemble the plots of Hollywood capers.

  Patrick Hines (28:14): "We also see footage from 2004 that looks like it's from the 1800s."

• Relationship with Law Enforcement:

  Blanchard's interactions with the police, particularly Officers Mitch and Larry, are depicted as comically inept, often allowing him to evade capture effortlessly.

  Patrick Hines (04:29): "The cops, Mitch and Larry, basically let him get away with us every step of the way."

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Family Dynamics and Enabling Behaviors

A significant aspect of Blanchard's story is the role of his mother, Carol, in enabling his criminal activities. Despite his blatant dishonesty, Carol consistently defends him, attributing his actions to misunderstandings or downplaying his crimes.

Patrick Hines (26:39): "She goes, yeah, they ransacked my entire house, including the underwear drawer."

Their relationship underscores themes of manipulation and denial, as Carol refuses to acknowledge the severity of her son's actions, often rationalizing his thefts as entrepreneurial endeavors.

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The Climactic Capture and Aftermath

Blanchard's eventual downfall comes through a combination of his overconfidence and the persistent yet bumbling efforts of law enforcement. Despite his elaborate schemes, his arrogance leads to critical mistakes:

• Final Heist and Arrest:

  During a grand heist targeting a newly established CIBC bank, Blanchard attempts to steal $750,000 from the ATMs. However, his oversight in registering his getaway car under his real name, Danny Blanchard, proves to be his undoing.

  Patrick Hines (32:03): "But he rented a car in his own name, parked it in front of the bank and went in front of the cameras."

• Sentencing:

  Blanchard is indicted on 16 counts of theft and fraud, facing a maximum sentence of 168 years. Surprisingly, he receives a significantly lighter sentence of eight years, largely due to his mother's continued denial and the flawed judicial handling of his case.

  Patrick Hines (62:15): "He bought a house at 16. Girls."

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Critical Analysis by the Hosts

Julia and Patrick express a mix of frustration and disbelief at Blanchard's actions and the systemic failures that allowed him to continue his criminal endeavors:

• Host Frustration:

  Patrick Hines (55:25): "Don't call this guy mastermind, please. Enough."

• Systemic Failures:

  The hosts critique the police's ineffective strategies and the judicial leniency granted to Blanchard, highlighting how corruption and incompetence can embolden criminals.

  Julia Betavalli (57:12): "His mom is a wreck. She's sobbing to this day."

• Character Judgment:

  Julia and Patrick unambiguously label Blanchard as a "dirtbag loser," emphasizing his manipulative nature and lack of genuine remorse.

  Julia Betavalli (63:01): "Fuck the banks. They're legal criminals."

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Insights and Conclusions

"The Jewel Thief" serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of enabling behaviors within families, the importance of effective law enforcement, and the allure of power and control that can drive an individual to commit heinous crimes. Julia and Patrick's engaging discussion not only recounts Blanchard's criminal exploits but also provides critical commentary on societal and institutional shortcomings that allowed such a character to flourish.

Julia Betavalli (63:05): "He was out in 2012. Now 2017, he was arrested for theft and pleaded guilty to one charge."

In wrapping up, the hosts encourage listeners to reflect on the intricate dynamics that contribute to criminal behavior and the broader implications for society.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Julia Betavalli (00:00): "Girl, we are meeting the Chuck Norris of Canada today."
• Patrick Hines (04:29): "The cops, Mitch and Larry, basically let him get away with us every step of the way."
• Julia Betavalli (42:41): "But it really does elongate the goodbye at the end of, like, a holiday, you know what I mean?"
• Patrick Hines (55:25): "Don't call this guy mastermind, please. Enough."
• Julia Betavalli (63:03): "Fuck the banks. They're legal criminals."

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Closing Remarks

As Julia and Patrick conclude the episode, they remind listeners about their expanded content on YouTube and encourage engagement through their book club and Discord community. Their enthusiasm underscores the blend of informative true crime analysis with relatable and entertaining banter that makes True Crime Obsessed a must-listen for aficionados of the genre.

Patrick Hines (64:24): "Wow. All right."

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For more in-depth discussions and to catch full video episodes, visit True Crime Obsessed on YouTube and join their vibrant community on Discord and Facebook. Stay tuned for more riveting true crime tales delivered with humor, sass, and heart.

Transcript

[Julia Betavalli]

Girl, we are meeting the Chuck Norris of Canada today.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, whatever. Can you tell I was not the demo for this doc?

[Julia Betavalli]

You know what? I totally am.

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Julia Betavalli]

I mean, I'm such a sucker for this kind of thing.

[Patrick Hines]

We were just. We just went down two roads, diverged in a wood, and we went down separate directions. Hi.

[Julia Betavalli]

Julia Betavalli.

[Patrick Hines]

Hello. Patrick Hines.

[Julia Betavalli]

Are you going to tell them or you want me to tell them?

[Patrick Hines]

You got to tell them.

[Julia Betavalli]

All right, fam. We have launched full video episodes on YouTube for free.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, we just have them now.

[Julia Betavalli]

We have them. We are, like, they're going to look like our current studio, but we're in the process of, like, redoing our whole studio to be, like, cool and hip.

[Patrick Hines]

A lot of information we're giving you today.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know it's going to be amazing. So it's true. Crime Obsessed is our channel on YouTube. You can go watch all of our full videos going forward. It's going to be wild.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, going forward. It's not like, no, we're not going.

[Julia Betavalli]

You're not going to see, like, 2017.

[Patrick Hines]

Me and Julia, Aaron and Tom are like, oh, God. Oh, God. And a big thanks to Aaron and Tom who are making these videos, because I kind of made it sound like they just appear. They. They do not appear.

[Julia Betavalli]

No.

[Patrick Hines]

Elves do not make them. We have real amazing people making these videos for us, so thank you both.

[Julia Betavalli]

And, like, Natalie, who's handling, like, the calendar of how all of that is getting done. It is. We've got a real team behind the scenes that makes this stuff happen. We are so, so, so amazing.

[Patrick Hines]

Thanks, everybody.

[Julia Betavalli]

All right, girl. What are we talking about today?

[Patrick Hines]

The Jewel Thief, Your favorite new documentary. It's just that, like, for the first 15 minutes, this guy is like a God to these people. They're in love with him. They're in awe of him. He's the new James Bond. It goes on forever. And I'm like, oh, so he's a bozo. The longer. The longer the, like, my heart stops at the thought of him. The more I'm like, oh, so he's a dingbat. He's just like an insufferable herb.

[Julia Betavalli]

I don't think I've ever heard you say bozo before. That's great.

[Patrick Hines]

I have.

[Julia Betavalli]

Really?

[Patrick Hines]

With Twin Flames, I kept calling them bozos, and Robbie was like, are you ready for the New York Post now? Our friend Robbie texted me. He's like, the amount of times you call these people bozos, like, I can't.

[Julia Betavalli]

This is the story of A conniving, creative, intelligent man committing frauds that were fairy.

[Patrick Hines]

Tal.

[Detective]

Blanchard is probably the savviest criminal mind I've ever experienced as a police officer.

[Julia Betavalli]

He's a professional. He looks like my doctor.

[Detective]

He was like a James Bond kind of guy. On the other side of the fence, he's been committing crime his entire life and never getting caught.

[Patrick Hines]

It sounds like the script from a Hollywood movie. From bank robbery and fraud to stealing a diamond brooch from an Austrian museum.

[Julia Betavalli]

Okay, this prec. A piece of jewelry was stolen, at least by somebody like James Bond.

[Detective]

Mr. Blanchard ranks at the very top.

[Patrick Hines]

There have been more factually complex cases.

[Detective]

But none quite as bizarre and entertaining.

[Julia Betavalli]

And unusual as Mr. Blanchard. We open. I gotta just say, like, I love that, like, the opening part of this documentary is like caper music. It's like, we're not. We're not a regular documentary. We're a cool documentary.

[Patrick Hines]

But then we get the on screen text. This is a true story. Mostly.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. Which again, I'm like, all right, we get it. You're the cool. You're the cool guy. You want us to drink at your house.

[Patrick Hines]

But the reason that they're saying that is because the thief is here and you can't believe a word he says.

[Julia Betavalli]

And I will say the documentary does a great job of him being like, this thing happened. And then it cuts to the cop, and the cop's like, that never happened.

[Patrick Hines]

That never happened. We meet Carol as mom.

[Julia Betavalli]

I got some questions for Carol.

[Patrick Hines]

I got some questions too, and some statements for Carol.

[Julia Betavalli]

Do you want to make one right now?

[Patrick Hines]

Well, Carol is convinced she raised this, like, wonderful, perfect kid. Gifted. Wish I had five just like him, kind of.

[Julia Betavalli]

How many years did her son spend in prison?

[Patrick Hines]

Like eight.

[Julia Betavalli]

Like, at least. And then, like, the four before that.

[Patrick Hines]

It should have been 168 years or something, but he got eight. He's very loving to the people who are important to him. And I'm like, oh, Carol, play that back. Listen to what you said. If you are not worthy of his. You know what I mean?

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

No, you should just be, like a nice person.

[Julia Betavalli]

Carol is also another person who is like, has. I don't know how my son is buying me this new fancy car. I don't know.

[Patrick Hines]

Carol, please, like, Carol, wake up. Because then we meet Gerald the thief, and I'm like, all right, James Bond. He is not.

[Julia Betavalli]

But I never, ever understand how these people who've committed 168 years worth of prison time crimes are sitting for the documentary. I Kept waiting for it to be like he was an actor. No, no, no, no, no.

[Patrick Hines]

They make it very clear here, because the cops are bozos. Speaking of bozos, the cops, Mitch and Larry, basically let him get away with us every step of the way. And they're like, bye.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. And the cops.

[Patrick Hines]

Good heist. Good, good heist.

[Julia Betavalli]

This time, they can't help but be kind of impressed by him.

[Patrick Hines]

It's ridiculous, because Gerald, he also. His name is Gerald Daniel Blanchard.

[Julia Betavalli]

I'd be calling him Blanchard.

[Patrick Hines]

He goes by Daniel sometimes. Gerald. Whatever. But this guy's here, and he's saying everyone is jealous. He gets to live a life that everyone wants to live, and no one has the guts to execute it like he did. And he's amazing. And I'm like, okay, whatever. I'm tuned out already.

[Julia Betavalli]

Gerald.

[Patrick Hines]

Jerry, I'm not. You're. You're not going to get my attention. Well, he's like the guy, except you are. Because I have 40 pages of notes, and it's my job.

[Julia Betavalli]

I. By the way, my font used to just be 18 and would enlarge it to 24 when I'd be mad. Now it's always. It's just straight 24. It's just straight 24.5. It is 90 pages.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. It's like, it goes on forever.

[Julia Betavalli]

It goes on for forever. But like Carol is saying to us, the mom is like, if he'd have.

[Carol]

Told me that he was going to be a mastermind international thief, I would have just blown it off and go, yeah, sure you are, you know, okay kid. But he's always been, you know, as you say, a little guy. He looks like a nerd. You know, he looks like a nerd.

[Julia Betavalli]

She calls her son a little nerd.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. Because his lower third is former criminal mastermind. Like, we're supposed to think he gave it all up.

[Julia Betavalli]

Totally. These guys never. He can't give it up because, like, the hot guy that lived in the treehouse. This is not about the money for him.

[Patrick Hines]

No.

[Julia Betavalli]

You know.

[Patrick Hines]

No, no. That's the.

[Julia Betavalli]

How to rob a bank.

[Patrick Hines]

How to rob a bank.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Because what the mom is saying, like, he stayed to himself, and he loves electronics, and he was always, like, taking things apart and putting things back together, which is, like, a very cool interest. But this guy sucks.

[Julia Betavalli]

Not me. I was. I me. You would be surprised to know that, like, I was the kid out collecting, like, salamanders and garter snakes. Cool. I was like an outdoor kid when I was a kid. Like, I really, like, I. There was A caper once where I brought a snake to school and it got loose and they had to evacuate the school.

[Patrick Hines]

What? What was it like? Boa constrictor.

[Julia Betavalli]

Can you imagine? Like, I found a boa constrictor in the backyard. No, it was a little garter snake. But it, like. I know. They do bite, though.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, nothing.

[Julia Betavalli]

But it got away.

[Patrick Hines]

Love bite, love nibble.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, there's. I can't believe there was a time that I played with snakes.

[Patrick Hines]

I can't either.

[Julia Betavalli]

No.

[Patrick Hines]

And then what happened? Did it live happily ever after?

[Julia Betavalli]

I don't think they ever found him.

[Patrick Hines]

Of course not.

[Julia Betavalli]

But they evacuated the whole floor of my school.

[Patrick Hines]

That's ridiculous.

[Julia Betavalli]

There's a gardener snake.

[Patrick Hines]

That's ridiculous. They're this big. Am I wrong? They're like nuts.

[Julia Betavalli]

You're right. But I brought it back in the day. They used to make those tubs of peanut butter for poor people.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay.

[Julia Betavalli]

And so we had one of those. And I. I remember, like, it was a plastic lid and I. I cut like air holes in it so I could bring the snake to school. But I didn't realize the air holes were so big that the snake went right through them. Right.

[Patrick Hines]

Do you name it?

[Julia Betavalli]

No. He wasn't in my life long enough. You know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

That's sad.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

He's okay. How long do snakes live? Could he still be alive now?

[Julia Betavalli]

97 years, I think is the average. All right, so he's probably still alive. Yeah, he probably still lives in that classroom. Just Sipacan elementary in Marian, Massachusetts.

[Patrick Hines]

Hanging out on the front lawn, totally telling tales about that time he got the whole school.

[Julia Betavalli]

Maybe that time that gay kid caught me.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, that was me.

[Julia Betavalli]

That little queen caught me.

[Patrick Hines]

They're like all gathered around all the salamanders and all, like the ants and the other snakes. They're like.

[Julia Betavalli]

By the guy that hosts that true crime podcast.

[Patrick Hines]

That was me.

[Julia Betavalli]

That was you?

[Patrick Hines]

I knew him when.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, my God.

[Patrick Hines]

Got the whole school shut down. Travel down the road back again, girl.

[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

Do you have visitation at this point?

[Patrick Hines]

Absolutely. He and Fiona are cousins. Don't ask. It's just. It's like that New York thing where it's like, all my cousins.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

Tell me what this is.

[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

Well, listen, I want to tell you what Elizabeth. Elizabeth C. Says. My cat was always so. So with her usual food, but she is very enthusiastic about Smalls. Her breath is much better, and she poops much less frequently. And it does not smell disgusting like it used to. I love talking about pooping and out.

[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

It's really big.

[Julia Betavalli]

That's a big deal.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

That's the best offer you'll find, but you have to use our code TCO for 50% off your first order one last time.

[Patrick Hines]

That's promo code TCO for 50% off your first order, plus free shipping.

[Julia Betavalli]

Go take care of your kitty.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, it's a win, win, win, win, win as far as I'm concerned.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, guess what? This guy's street name was MacGyver.

[Patrick Hines]

Whatever. Like, so he was. He's adopted at six years old, and his adoptive parents got divorced.

[Julia Betavalli]

But. And, like, the dad just, like, bailed on this kid's life very, like, very early. Like, the adopted dad bails, and then, like, they. They were living, like, a nice life in Canada, and then they moved to Omaha, Nebraska, with, like, mom, we are told, and I've not heard this to be true currently, but we are told that Omaha is the most dangerous place in the world to live.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, again, says our unreliable narrator wants to be the victim and hero in every breath. So I don't Believe what he says.

[Julia Betavalli]

He literally says, only the strongest survive.

[Patrick Hines]

I don't think so.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know, I know.

[Patrick Hines]

But he started. He explains that he started to hate the banks because he watched his mother beg and fight with them. And he grew to hate them, which makes sense. Totally.

[Julia Betavalli]

You know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

So he was saying, like, we didn't.

[Aaron]

Have milk for the cereal. And I'm not exaggerating. Like, I used to use, like, ginger ale for milk. That's how bad it was. So I had to go steal milk from the neighbors.

[Carol]

He never stole milk. I mean, that's part of his story.

[Julia Betavalli]

And it's the first time that we get a shot to the mom who's like, that never happened.

[Patrick Hines]

That never happened. That's part of a story he made up. He did steal penny candy, however, and I made him return it.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, she'd march him right back.

[Patrick Hines]

But this is where I'm like, Carol.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

She calls that an enhanced story. Just call it a lie. It's a lie, right? He just lied.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, my God.

[Patrick Hines]

And it's okay. He made it a whole life of it. And you're very proud of his lying life. But don't call it an enhanced story. Like a conscious uncoupling or, like, alternative facts. Whatever. An enhanced story. It's just a lie. Who is he? Jack Kelly. He improves the truth. Like, only Jack Kelly's allowed to do that. Okay. In the movie version of Newsies, because it's the only newsies that exist.

[Julia Betavalli]

The movie version of Newsies.

[Patrick Hines]

The only version that exists.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, it doesn't. Seize the day or don't seize it at all.

[Patrick Hines]

Don't talk to me. If you're going to talk to me about something other than the movie version.

[Julia Betavalli]

Of Newsies, and if you haven't seen it, pause this right now and go watch it. Fix your life and go watch it, please.

[Patrick Hines]

It's on Disney.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. I saw it in the movie theater.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. I saw. For the one week it was out.

[Patrick Hines]

Life changing.

[Julia Betavalli]

It truly life changing.

[Patrick Hines]

Kenny Ortega. Oh, my God. Anyway, so Jack Kelly. He's not.

[Julia Betavalli]

No.

[Patrick Hines]

So the thief is like, I was stealing food from my family, and that's what led me to this life of crime. And I'm like, I'm so tired already. This revisionist history where he's the hero. Like, how original, bro.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know, I know. But he's learning that he's just, like, really good at it. He was also a really, like, an early adopter of the video camera.

[Patrick Hines]

He filmed.

[Julia Betavalli]

He filmed literally Everything, like, all the stealing.

[Patrick Hines]

So even Laurie, his friend who's here, is like, can I just be honest? He always wanted the attention. He would do anything for the attention. And that's, like, why he was stealing and also filming everything, Right? Because he was filming the stealing and, like.

[Julia Betavalli]

And he's. It's not even that he's that good at it. It's just that nobody's paying attention.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. You know, he says it's kind of like. Because there's, like, all this footage of him just, like, grabbing a box of money at the school event and, like, walking away.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

And I know you didn't watch Band of Brothers, but it's excellent, okay? And it's like a true story of what happen with Easy Company in World War II. Right? So they're, like, fighting the Nazis and whatever. So Donnie Wahlberg is in it, and he's excellent. I love Donnie Wahlberg, and he is excellent in it. Everyone's great in it.

[Julia Betavalli]

Wow.

[Patrick Hines]

But there's this part, Donnie Wahlberg DM me once. I know.

[Julia Betavalli]

Remember? I just. I. I just remember because we do.

[Patrick Hines]

Very scary people sometimes.

[Julia Betavalli]

His show, he was like, can I be on your pod? I was like, yeah. Donnie ghosted me. And then he ghosted me. Typical 1 DM from Donnie. Typical 1 DM from the Burg.

[Patrick Hines]

There's this scene in Band of Brothers where this guy Spears, he was running across the field to, like, rescue I Company and bring them, but he's like, it's too obvious. Like, the Germans are right there. Spears. And he's like. And we see it happen, but it's this beautiful narration of Donnie going. At first the Germans didn't shoot at him. I think they couldn't quite believe what they were seeing. And you see Spears, like, go. And he's like. But that wasn't the really astounding thing. The really astounding thing was after he hooked up with I Company, he came back, and I'm like. And that actually happened. Everyone go watch Band of Brothers.

[Julia Betavalli]

Wow.

[Patrick Hines]

But it's one of those things where it's like, he's not stealing from the register in front of me, Right?

[Julia Betavalli]

Literally. Like, he takes, like, cartons of cigarettes in front of the cigarette lady and just puts them in his car.

[Patrick Hines]

My crazy brain just went right to Band of Brothers. That's how I work.

[Julia Betavalli]

This podcast swings from Band of Brothers to newsies like that.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, it literally just did 100%. I mean, on brand, honestly, if you know me for five minutes, you know how on brand that is truly to go From Tom Hanks produced band of brothers to newsies and back again in two seconds like this.

[Julia Betavalli]

It's very.

[Patrick Hines]

It feels good.

[Julia Betavalli]

I like it.

[Patrick Hines]

It feels safe.

[Julia Betavalli]

But we learned that what he's really doing is that he's stealing stuff to sell it, right? That's how he's making money, right?

[Patrick Hines]

And he would steal things like electronics, right? So he went to radioshack, who. He says, it's the best buy of North America. I'm like, it's best buy.

[Julia Betavalli]

That feels very Canadian.

[Patrick Hines]

Best buy, yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

Canadians. Am I wrong?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, sorry. But it's best buy.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, listen, we need them. We can't come for them right now.

[Patrick Hines]

I love Canada because we're probably going to end up. You're talking to someone who very much enjoys the program. Degrassi, the next gener. That's I know, for Canada by any stretch. But sometimes they say, sorry if I get in trouble for saying orange. Like, come on, flower. We got to give and take a little bit, everybody.

[Julia Betavalli]

The Canadians have never come for us. They're too nice.

[Patrick Hines]

They're too way, way, way too nice. But he says, best buy. And I'm like, it's best Buy.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, what he's doing is he's, like, stealing stuff from radio shack and selling it on the street. Then one day, according to legend, and.

[Aaron]

What ended up happening was Easter Sunday, we actually cleared out the whole entire store. We, like, disconnected the alarm, took everything out with a moving truck. I just became too confident.

[Patrick Hines]

Millions of dollars worth of product, and I'm like, okay.

[Julia Betavalli]

Puts it all in his house. The fucking SWAT team shows up. The SWAT team shows up and kicks in his door.

[Patrick Hines]

This one might be a little bit true. Cause the mom confirms it.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. And we see pictures of, like, the house that got tossed.

[Patrick Hines]

She goes, yeah, they ransacked my entire house, including the underwear drawer. What woman is keeping electronics in her under o? Oh, wait, it, like, dawned on her, right? She's like, we won't talk about that. I'm like, we are sex positive.

[Julia Betavalli]

We absolutely are sex positive. You keep that wherever you want to keep it.

[Patrick Hines]

Whatever. It's 1987. This guy's 15 years old. He's charged with grand theft and released after three months. And he literally is like, you know what I have to thank for that? Racism.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

He goes, it helped me a lot. I was a white kid. I was in school. Thanks. Racism.

[Julia Betavalli]

I really kind of thought it was kind of self aware, at least of him to be like, I understand that. Like, that was because I was a white Guy. Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

I think it's the most honest. Tea is.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, 100%.

[Patrick Hines]

So he's on probation for, like, two years, and he just doesn't stop. He actually ramps up the stealing because.

[Julia Betavalli]

Once again, it really isn't about the money. He becomes, like, totally addicted to the adrenaline rush of stealing.

[Patrick Hines]

And I just want to point out, like, what he's doing is meticulous work. In 1987.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

So what he's doing is he's breaking into cash registers, stealing the receipts, and then faking using that to, like, 1987 version of Photoshop and making new receipts so that whenever someone was like, hey, kid, let me see the receipt for that. He had one.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, and also what he does, we.

[Detective]

Saw him remove parts off of a cash register to fabricate receipts that were so authentic that the stores could not tell that they were a fake receipt.

[Julia Betavalli]

They, like, duplicate a receipt for a VCR eight times, go into the store, steal the vcr, and then return it to the store with the receipt and get the cash.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Julia Betavalli]

It's. I mean, nobody should do this. It's against the law. Everybody just do the fucking right thing.

[Patrick Hines]

But it's ingenious in 1987, especially because you were. He was just like, what, like, photocopying, like cutting them, Taping, gluing, Like, Exactly. And he was doing this over and over and over.

[Julia Betavalli]

And we will learn that this man has patience. It's how he gets away with almost everything that he does.

[Patrick Hines]

That's really. I think what makes you a good criminal, if I may, is the patience of it. It's. That's when you real. And I'm glad, like, keep fucking up, because patience doesn't last forever.

[Julia Betavalli]

No. And you're always going to get caught, you know?

[Patrick Hines]

But everyone was in on it. His friends, his mother.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

She's on camera laughing about it. She, like, saw all the electronics. She totally knew. And I'm telling you once. How many times was the sentence boys will be boys uttered in that house? Or it's like, this guy could do no wrong in her eyes. He's gifted. He's charming. He's just doing something. Like, he's really amazing. I promise you, she. She lived by boys will be boys.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes. And she's claiming she know. She's claiming that she knows nothing. This guy is making.

[Patrick Hines]

She's on camera opening these gifts for Christmas.

[Julia Betavalli]

Exactly.

[Patrick Hines]

Give me a break. He's 15.

[Julia Betavalli]

He buys a house.

[Patrick Hines]

He buys. He's telling his mother that he's reselling stuff. He Found at garage sales and he's on probation. And she was like, well, he was a money making machine. And I'm like, from, from the garage sale resale market.

[Julia Betavalli]

She's like, everybody in these documentaries, she's intentionally not asking any questions.

[Patrick Hines]

Well, because she likes the presents, I.

[Julia Betavalli]

Mean, and she likes the fact that her 16 year old son owns a house. House. Bought a house.

[Patrick Hines]

He bought a house at 16 because he forged all the paperwork and paid in cash and told some lie to his complicit mother. And he was like, yeah, she believed that. My friend and I split the house. And I'm like, who is giving you a house when you're 16 year old?

[Julia Betavalli]

Who's selling a house to a 16 year old?

[Patrick Hines]

Like, you know, it must have been a shithole.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, it must have been. And by 1988, his friends who'd been in on it and who thought it was really fun, they're now saying this is like turning scary. And he's getting like really involved in gang activity and they're starting to think that he's going to get killed like any second.

[Patrick Hines]

And he's so entitled because he's like stealing and lying and being a nightmare. And then he goes off on like respect and like if you disrespect him, he'll make you pay. I'm like, okay, you twerp. What a twerp.

[Julia Betavalli]

He's a bozo.

[Patrick Hines]

Such like porpo behavior.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, because he's like this skinny, scrawny little guy whose dad abandoned him basically at birth. Like this is like the shit that.

[Patrick Hines]

Happens, you know, Even though he can do no wrong in his mother's eyes. It's not enough.

[Julia Betavalli]

No, it's not enough.

[Patrick Hines]

So he's doing things like setting cars on fire.

[Julia Betavalli]

But like, this story is insane because his friend Jeff is here and like his friend Jeff wants to like ruin a car to get the insurance for it. And so they set this car on and as they're walking away from the scene, and we both could have walked away and it would have been no big deal. But he chose to confront the police.

[Detective]

And try to talk himself out of it.

[Julia Betavalli]

And it didn't work out very well for him. I immediately recognized the kid as Blanchard because I've had past dealings with him.

[Aaron]

He was like, hey, what are you doing here? I'm like, I don't know, some car's on fire.

[Julia Betavalli]

And as I get close to him, I could smell gasoline from him because you smell like gasoline. And then the car blows up. They arrest this kid and Then he.

[Patrick Hines]

Escapes because he supposedly climbs up into and through the ceiling.

[Julia Betavalli]

But then the cops can't figure it out because they've taken him into an interrogation room. The cops leave him alone for five seconds, they come back, and he's gone. And these cops think that he's like David Copperfield and he's walked. They can't figure out where he got.

[Patrick Hines]

But in reality, he's Greg Pachytis.

[Julia Betavalli]

Who's that?

[Patrick Hines]

From Parks and Rec. And I know it's Greg Pachytis. He's just the guy that's torturing Leslie knope and, like, TPing the office. And he's like, it wasn't me, Leslie.

[Julia Betavalli]

But it's like there's only one way he could have gotten out. Like, he didn't walk through the wall. The only way is up. It doesn't even occur to them that he went into the drop ceiling.

[Patrick Hines]

But in true Greg Pakita's fashion, he steals a bullet, draws a smiley face on, and leaves it on his desk. That's him with the walnut whatever from Parks and Rec.

[Julia Betavalli]

So it's very. But it's just like.

[Patrick Hines]

It's like you. You know, you're getting. You're getting got by a teenager. This is so teenage.

[Julia Betavalli]

And it really just shows you how. It's not even that he's this good. It's that the cops are totally inept.

[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

Yep.

[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

You better watch out. So once again, the SWAT team has to kick down the mother's Door. They find him hiding in a closet. He's naked. And they haul him in. And she's like, he didn't do anything.

[Julia Betavalli]

They haul him in.

[Patrick Hines]

He didn't do anything except buy me this new television and VCR and computer for Christmas. And he's 16 and he owns a house.

[Julia Betavalli]

In 1987, the total of that was $400,000. $500,000.

[Patrick Hines]

Can you believe it? After he just purchased that home.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

What are you doing with my gifted son? Dragging him out of the closet.

[Julia Betavalli]

Why is he naked in the closet? Why is he naked?

[Patrick Hines]

Because he probably just dou. Himself. He was. Probably Smelled like the gasoline from blowing up the car, I guess.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, they put him. So they. They arrest him naked. They put him in the cop car. We meet this new cop, this guy, Officer Jeff. Every cop says to him, take him downtown. But you gotta know this guy's slippery. And Jeff was like, no worries. I got this. This kid's not getting away from me.

[Patrick Hines]

They're getting him on arson, evading arrest, theft, whatever else. All in one night, right?

[Julia Betavalli]

Jeff, the cop who's convinced this kid won't get away from him, gets out of the car for two seconds. This skinny boy gets the handcuffs from behind his back. He jumps over, shimmies out of it. He's. He starts the car. At this point, my career is starting.

[Detective]

To flash before my eyes, and I realize what's about to happen. And I'm screaming at him at the.

[Julia Betavalli]

Top of my lungs that I'm gonna.

[Patrick Hines]

Shoot him through the windshield.

[Detective]

The car goes into drive. There's a cacophony, an explosion of noise and tire smoke.

[Aaron]

Police officer Slightly gets hit.

[Julia Betavalli]

Now, in the reenactment, they do the Romeo and Michelle thing where the cop.

[Patrick Hines]

Goes flying over the car, and it's like a rat. It's like a doll.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, totally. And the kid just take downtown driving with handcuffs. And then as he's trying to escape, he's driving the cop car. He comes onto a crash site where the cop that had arrested him the first time is sort of like moving the traffic. So the cop sees the cop car. He's about to wave him through. This kid slows down enough to, like, wave at the cop.

[Patrick Hines]

He's taunting.

[Julia Betavalli]

With the handcuffs and no clothes.

[Patrick Hines]

Yes. What is that? Who does. I think that's Avon Barksale. And the wire does that. He's in, like, a car chase. And then he just goes like, oh, my God. Waving to the cops.

[Julia Betavalli]

So the other car gets in his cop car. He's now chasing the naked 60s 16 year old driving the first cop car. This is a caper.

[Patrick Hines]

And Carol's like, he didn't do a thing wrong. Perfect in every way. Perfect in every way. Didn't do a thing wrong.

[Julia Betavalli]

This is just. You have to be crazy in order to do this.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. So they finally catch him. Carol's crying.

[Julia Betavalli]

Can I tell you one thing? Oh, God. I hope I don't get in trouble for telling this.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, God.

[Julia Betavalli]

There's a kid in a family that I know who is a teenager, and he crashed his car into a telephone pole.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, God.

[Julia Betavalli]

And then before the cops got there, like took off and the cops chased him. He then drove the car into a neighborhood and parked in a driveway, thinking that it would look like the car was off. But he put his foot on the brake. So the cops followed him into the neighbor, into the neighborhood, and saw that the brake light was on in this empty car.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God. And no one got hurt.

[Julia Betavalli]

No one got hurt. Thank the Lord.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God.

[Julia Betavalli]

But like, just don't try to outrun the cops. You know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

Teenagers are dummies. So this guy gets seven years in prison. He only served three and a half, which honestly, for the shit he pulled, seems very generous.

[Julia Betavalli]

I mean, like, once again, thanks for making in prison for.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. So in 1997, he's been deported back to Canada.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

He has no money. He's up to his old tricks. He's stealing shit and faking the receipts to get the cash.

[Julia Betavalli]

And that's what happens.

[Aaron]

Because Canadian Customs gave me $10 to take the bus. I bought a $9 disposable camera, took the sales receipt, photocopied it at staples for 10 cents, stole a couple of them, and started returning those cameras. By the end of the day, I had a couple hundred dollars. I felt like I was on top of the world, back to my old self.

[Julia Betavalli]

Duplicates the receipt, steals a whole bunch more of those cameras and returns them all for the cash.

[Patrick Hines]

I think I said receipts. I think I didn't say the tea. I think I said receipts.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, there's a lot of not saying the tea going on in this country.

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Julia Betavalli]

You know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

Sure is. But I think I said it. I felt my lips say the P and not the T. And then it was going to haunt me forever if I didn't say it. I think I said receipts.

[Julia Betavalli]

Everybody watching you say it is even funnier than hearing it.

[Patrick Hines]

It's fun to say. It's a cute word. It's like the Word Bunny. Isn't the word Bunny so cute? Sure, Bunny. It's so cute. But I think. I'm pretty sure I said it. You got me. I got myself.

[Julia Betavalli]

There are some humans named Bunny. Yeah, It's a good name for a person.

[Patrick Hines]

To me it's very old money, but I could be wrong. I just associate that. Probably because I think you're right.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Anyway, so Aaron is here, the friend. He starts dealing with Gerald.

[Julia Betavalli]

He's like his new friend in Canada. They hook up immediately. Aaron asks no questions, just does what he's told.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, because the thief was starting to think bigger. He doesn't want to do the steel return bit anymore. He wants to graduate to robbing banks. Because you remember, he hates the banks.

[Julia Betavalli]

Even though.

[Patrick Hines]

And again, we are not defending big banks.

[Julia Betavalli]

No, we definitely are not. But even though he was making 30 to 50k in a day sometimes he.

[Patrick Hines]

Said him says himself maybe his mother.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Just consider the source.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, no, you're right. You're right. Of course I believed in hook line.

[Patrick Hines]

And just a reminder, I mean, maybe. I don't know. I know, but like, I would just consider.

[Julia Betavalli]

That's the whole thing with like the hot guy in the woods. Like, it was never the. Like. Remember when he made $2 million selling drugs at one time? It's never about the money. It's always like they want to get.

[Patrick Hines]

Caught, I think in some ways. Yeah. Or at least be able to get caught so they can tell their revisionist history version of it, which is exactly.

[Julia Betavalli]

What'S going to happen, you know? Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

So he studies the bank, he learns about the security systems. And again, like, a lot of planning goes into this shit. And he's doing all of the planning.

[Julia Betavalli]

And not that really is the difference.

[Patrick Hines]

So Richard, his bio dad, is here, and he's stretching on the chair before he sits down.

[Julia Betavalli]

This is the guy. This is the Chuck Norris of Canada. My girlfriend was 15, I was 17. We were kids. Our herself. And she put him up for adoption. I had no say. She was the mother.

[Patrick Hines]

She was the mom. She made this decision.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, that's not how that works, by the way.

[Patrick Hines]

Whatever.

[Julia Betavalli]

Not at all how that works. But okay, Rich.

[Patrick Hines]

So we hear this story about how the two of them are meeting for the first time and they're both recording the conversation. And so it's like I'm recording this. Great. Me too. Great. Me too.

[Julia Betavalli]

Like, all right, I know, I know, I know.

[Patrick Hines]

The apple does not fall far.

[Julia Betavalli]

It absolutely does not. The crazy people who record every phone call.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, like, that Is some serious shit. Like, why I know. What a way to live. Can you just live your life and be a decent person? And why are you recording every single.

[Julia Betavalli]

It doesn't usually go hand in hand.

[Patrick Hines]

What a weird thing to do.

[Julia Betavalli]

What a weird thing to do.

[Patrick Hines]

But. But then to meet your match and be like, me, too. Me too.

[Julia Betavalli]

Like, all right, I know, I know. But we learned that he's, like, now getting better with each bank robbery, Right. So we Learned about this CIBC bank robbery.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. We also see footage from 2004 that looks like it's from the 1800s.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

And I stopped me in my tracks. So we hear about the CIBC bank robbery, and Larry and Mitch are here. They're cops from Canada.

[Julia Betavalli]

I'm a little bit obsessed with Larry and Mitch because they are outsmarted by this guy. Never seen anything like they've never seen.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, they love this guy. There's something about him. They're in awe.

[Julia Betavalli]

There's a little bit of reverie for how long he gets away with it under their watch.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Julia Betavalli]

So what we learn about this bank at cibc, the building is brand new. The bank is not in operation yet it's being built.

[Patrick Hines]

And there's no security on the branches while they're being built, which is a.

[Julia Betavalli]

Thing that you wouldn't necessarily know, you.

[Patrick Hines]

Know, but there are. There are signs promoting the new location. So they're sort of pointing everyone's attention to the location. But there's no security on the branches while they're being built.

[Julia Betavalli]

Exactly.

[Patrick Hines]

So this guy dresses up as a construction worker.

[Aaron]

Well, the first time was pretty easy. I just went to Toys R Us and bought a $50 baby monitor. Screw that in there, plaster it up, sand it down, repaint it, and within two hours, you're done.

[Detective]

So he would have been able to listen to the general contractor say, okay, well, boys, this room's got to be done by such and such a day because the ATMs are coming on May 3rd, 13th.

[Julia Betavalli]

Now he's able to see and hear everything that's happening inside while they're building the bank, so he can learn everything he needs to know.

[Patrick Hines]

He's listening to the contractors, so he's hearing things like when the ATMs are coming, when security was being installed. And it's like, how great was this baby monitor that he hear all of this?

[Julia Betavalli]

I mean, baby monitors are pretty good. It's kind of crazy.

[Patrick Hines]

I. It must have been in some guy's office or something. Like, why was like, it must have been in a Pretty central location that he's getting all of this.

[Julia Betavalli]

Or maybe there was many of them and you like, it's hard to know. But what he learned is like how the motion detectors are going to work. He's just gathering all of this information that's basically going to enable him to be able to break in undetected.

[Patrick Hines]

And talking about his patients. He was going into the bank every once in a while and messing with the locks and doing it just enough. Yes, that no one would notice, but that he'd be able to open the locks later.

[Julia Betavalli]

Now my note here is they explain how he was able to open the doors to the ATMs themselves. And they explained they really want us to know how easy it was. But I could not follow it. And I was like, we are in no danger of me robbing any banks.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Julia Betavalli]

It was like, it was so simple, an idiot could do it. I' watch it four times and I still didn't get it.

[Patrick Hines]

I also, like, I don't have any interest in that.

[Julia Betavalli]

No, I don't mind earning money, you know, I don't kind of like earning money.

[Patrick Hines]

I just feel like the risk versus reward thing, is it really panning out?

[Julia Betavalli]

Because you're definitely going to jail. And then like while you're spending the money that you stole, if you can even get away with it, you're looking over your shoulder the whole time.

[Patrick Hines]

And do banks even have cash in them anymore?

[Julia Betavalli]

I mean, this isn't going to work anymore. No, no.

[Patrick Hines]

So anyway, he robs the bank the day before opening. So they're about to open. They have $750,000 in the ATM.

[Julia Betavalli]

And this is what, like he basically just walks in and be like, an alarm does go off. But because he's pre jiggered the doors on the ATMs, he can get $750,000 in cash in about 30 seconds.

[Patrick Hines]

And he makes it look like, he makes the alarm look like it was an error.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

So when the cops get there, police.

[Julia Betavalli]

Officers responded, checked the bank. There was no signs of forced entry. There was nothing suspicious and kind of cleared the call.

[Patrick Hines]

They clear it because there's no forced entry. So it just looks like, oh, like we're still getting our feet wet here. The alarm like, whoops, oh, no.

[Julia Betavalli]

It's kind of like, I don't know, if you're the cop guarding the new bank, could you maybe just think a little critically, you know what I mean? Maybe just maybe just do that perimeter check one more time.

[Patrick Hines]

Like an empty building with $750,000 in it. And everyone knows the bank is opening tomorrow.

[Julia Betavalli]

Suddenly there's an alarm going off in the ATM section. I don't know. I'm just saying take a quick.

[Patrick Hines]

Like the day before. We weren't going to have security. All right, whatever. So hours later, the money is there.

[Julia Betavalli]

Shouldn't there be security? You know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

Hours later, the manager opens up the branch for the first day of work, and there's. And no one has any idea what happened. And this is like hours of lead time for the thief.

[Julia Betavalli]

That's a customer service nightmare. You're just there to cash your check. There's no money, Girl, I'm so sorry. We. But we have no idea what happened. But the money's gone.

[Patrick Hines]

I've been. You've been. Wait. There have been signs about this grand opening for like three weeks. So I went out of my way. I have to go to work.

[Julia Betavalli]

I was pretty sure there was money here when I left last night. Seems like there wasn't.

[Patrick Hines]

And no one has any idea why. No force entry, whatever.

[Julia Betavalli]

All the ATMs are broken, but nobody knows how it happens.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, so they finally figured out that they've been robbed after four days or what?

[Julia Betavalli]

You know what? You know what I think happened?

[Patrick Hines]

You know what I think happened?

[Julia Betavalli]

I think we were robbed.

[Patrick Hines]

It was that manager in the morning, being like, hi, you left me with no money. We were robbed. So they figure out, like, put two and two together, Dave and Rob. They check the cameras, they see a car. They run the plate. They get the name Danny Blanchard.

[Julia Betavalli]

He registered that vehicle, rented it in his name.

[Detective]

You ask yourself the question, how could someone so smart be so dumb?

[Patrick Hines]

The guy rented a car, his getaway car, using his real name.

[Julia Betavalli]

He spent nine months casing this bank, like, working his way into figure out exactly how we could steal the 700 and what it was. There was a Walmart in that mini mall. And the Walmart cop ran all the plates at night just for whatever reason. And, like, he rented a car in his own name, parked it in front of the bank and went in front of the cameras.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, what bank and the cameras?

[Julia Betavalli]

And they're just saying, like, how can you be this smart and this stupid, right? You know? Right.

[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

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[Patrick Hines]

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[Julia Betavalli]

Robinhood Financial LLC Member SIPC Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold LLC. Girl Gab is back. We have this for Daisy. We use it every day. Gab is the leader in safe phones and watches for kids, teens and tweens.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. So here's the deal. It doesn't have any social media apps, it doesn't have an Internet browser, and it has GPS tracking. So Gab devices are built specifically to keep kids and teens safely connected. We talk about this all the time.

[Julia Betavalli]

All the time. So Gab phones have all the tech features kids actually want. Like the Gab Music app, which lets kids stream clean music. For older kids, there's the the Gab4Pro with hundreds of screened third party apps that can only be installed when parents say so. So that's what we do. Like Daisy can only have the apps that are approved by us. Also, just like a feature they never talk about. Nobody can text her or contact her. If they are not a contact in her phone, which we have to put in, that's great. She can't receive pictures. You know how creepy that is?

[Patrick Hines]

That is super creepy. But speaking of, though, kids also get unlimited talk and text with Gab Messenger.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

Which is the first messaging and video calling app designed with kids. Safety is a top priority. Everything that you're just saying, and I.

[Julia Betavalli]

Want to say Gab is totally demystified. The phone for Daisy. She is not obsessed with it. Every other kid I know, all they want to do is take their parents one all the time. Daisy does not care. Gab, the phone is great. It works. We love it. We know where she is. We know we can get her. But she's not obsessed with her phone.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And Gab's phones and watches are built with smart filtration that proactively blocks harmful content before ever reaching your child. So it's not even going to get there.

[Julia Betavalli]

Let me tell you. We were so scared about getting dizzy. A phone. It's all we talked about for years and years. Gab came into our life and it, like, made it so easy.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. It sort of ended the conversation.

[Julia Betavalli]

Ended the conversation.

[Patrick Hines]

Such an easy.

[Julia Betavalli]

And we feel totally safe and, like, she's totally protected.

[Patrick Hines]

That's great.

[Julia Betavalli]

So, fam. Protecting your kids has never been easier. For the best deal, sign up to Gab today. No contract required, at gab.com tco that's Gab.

[Patrick Hines]

G A B b.com tco gab.com tco Terms and conditions apply.

[Julia Betavalli]

Of course.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

But for safety, I mean, come on.

[Patrick Hines]

So the cops look into the case. Turns out a lot of banks of the surrounding areas had the exact same thing happen. Dozens of them. Yes, Dozens. No one noticed until now. I'm like, Canada.

[Julia Betavalli]

Because what would happen is they would show up in the morning and there'd be no money. But they couldn't figure out how anybody got any money.

[Patrick Hines]

No one's trying to preemptively. No one's like, well, there has been a string of robberies. Let's make extra short.

[Julia Betavalli]

The morning meeting was just kind of like, well, there was money here last night, but now there's not.

[Patrick Hines]

But maybe a morning. I was at a place where we had to do a more. They called it the morning jam. It made me crazy. And finally a coworker and I, who's also named Patrick.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, wow.

[Patrick Hines]

Weirdly enough, that's like, not a bit. His name is Patrick Jones. He's great. But we were just like, we gotta put a stop to this.

[Julia Betavalli]

Can I tell you something you're gonna hate?

[Patrick Hines]

What?

[Julia Betavalli]

I love a morning meeting.

[Patrick Hines]

Why? Well, can't we just, like, settle in and get the day started?

[Julia Betavalli]

In fairness to me, in fairness to everybody, I've been up since 4, so by the time it's like 9:30 in the morning meeting, it's like midday for me. Right.

[Patrick Hines]

But that's just you.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. Believe me, I've learned to understand that other people do not like morning meetings.

[Patrick Hines]

We had to have a Jesus moment with someone who was much older than us being like, it's not working.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

The morning meetings where we can't.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we can't.

[Patrick Hines]

You just, like, let us get our day started.

[Julia Betavalli]

I just decided to, like, do my job. That's all.

[Patrick Hines]

I know.

[Julia Betavalli]

I just want to talk about it.

[Patrick Hines]

It's not working.

[Julia Betavalli]

9:15.

[Patrick Hines]

It's not working.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

So he's arrested again. He robs another atm. The cops surround him.

[Aaron]

I put the tarp over the machine, and I took a circular Saw. And I bought a diamond blade that will cut through an inch of steel like butter. The door popped. There's $200,000 right there. So I look out the tarp, and I'm being surrounded by the police. But I had a backup plan. I'm wearing a vest with six smoke grenades.

[Julia Betavalli]

The cops come. He throws smoke grenades at the cops, runs for it, and they tackle him.

[Patrick Hines]

The dog gets him. Right, the dog gets him. He's arrested.

[Julia Betavalli]

But, sir, you have $750,000. How do you already need more money?

[Patrick Hines]

It's not about that.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know, I know.

[Patrick Hines]

But the thing is, this guy that they're arresting at the ATM that the dog got, they don't know it's Gerald, right? They don't know it's the guy. It's like, you can' Two and two together, please.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, right, because he was like. When he was arrested, he gave a false name.

[Patrick Hines]

And so while he learned from that rental car debacle.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right, right, Exactly. While they're looking for Gerald. They've got Gerald in custody. They just don't know it.

[Patrick Hines]

They walk him by the task force room that is looking for him. He is Greg Pachytis. It is so ridiculous. He's like, there's a major investigation against me. How cool is that? Mom?

[Julia Betavalli]

He, like, peeks his head and, who are you guys looking for?

[Patrick Hines]

Mom, I've made it. There's, like, a task force about me. Mom.

[Julia Betavalli]

By the way, everybody on this task force did not want to be on it. Cause they did not think it was Sol. They've got the guy. Can you just imagine the scene where he pops his head and he's like, who you guys looking for? And they're like, it doesn't matter. We're never gonna find him.

[Patrick Hines]

I just don't understand how, like, ATMs are being robbed all the time. And then you catch someone robbing an ATM and you're not thinking, maybe it's the same person.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know Canada is spending too much time being kind.

[Patrick Hines]

I mean, you know what I mean? They also let him out on $2,000 bail.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

And only after he's gone, someone's like, wait a second.

[Julia Betavalli]

Wait a second. Was that the guy we were looking for?

[Patrick Hines]

They go, holy crow. That was the guy. Holy crow indeed. Jesus Christ.

[Julia Betavalli]

Once again, I just imagine him, the room. Can I help at all? Like, who are you guys looking for?

[Patrick Hines]

Well, now. But that's what he starts doing. Because now that they, like, had him and let him go and he saw that they're taking this super seriously with the task force. He starts taunting the police.

[Detective]

At one point in time, he sent me a text message with a whole bunch of pictures of him sitting on a yacht and driving a Ferrari and, you know, money on an atm. He likes to tease a little bit. He sent pictures when he was in China, and he's at an atmosphere machine. He had piles of cash.

[Patrick Hines]

He's traveling the world and sending them photos of, like, cash, cars, jewelry.

[Julia Betavalli]

Like, you gotta respect the game a little. I mean, because this actually does feel like a victimless crime. You know what I mean? I don't know if it is, but he's not robbing tellers. He's not like, no one's getting hurt here.

[Patrick Hines]

Right?

[Julia Betavalli]

So I don't know.

[Patrick Hines]

But it is still, like, your money in that bank.

[Julia Betavalli]

But, yeah, I guess so.

[Patrick Hines]

I know. Again, I'm not defending big banks. Please don't get me started.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. I know how much you love banks. I forgot.

[Patrick Hines]

Anyway, the cops finally get a wiretap on this loser, and he not shut up.

[Julia Betavalli]

They're like, there's no way he's gonna be talking on the phone. He's just spilling the beans. He never thinks he's ever, ever gonna get caught. He's saying everything. And he's like, I know cops. I know you're listening. I don't care. You're never gonna catch me.

[Patrick Hines]

And he. Yeah, he was talking to them directly. And he'd win every single time. He's like, oh, I'm using this fake press badge and I'm going to this stupid party and buy I love the sports.

[Julia Betavalli]

He's spending all of his money going to the sports. And I'm like, girl, oh. But, like, he really. It's not even that he's that good at this. It's just that, like, he doesn't care. Like, he'll sit in the air conditioning duck for 15 days to get all the. That nobody else will. He's not like a mastermind. He's just patient and a loser.

[Patrick Hines]

And he. And he just got. He got teamed up with the cops who were just going to bumble fumble this.

[Julia Betavalli]

Larry and Mitch. There's a soft spot in my heart.

[Patrick Hines]

For these because they're, like, chasing them literally all over the world. It's true. He's like, bye. Can't catch me.

[Julia Betavalli]

Bye.

[Patrick Hines]

So this guy's married to Ramona?

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

So Ramona's parents bankroll her extravagant life.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

She's traveling for months and months at a time. Now, his mother, the thief's mother, Carol.

[Carol]

Carol, she goes according to my son financially. Then her father was helping them establish real estate, so there was no question about my son being involved in any kind of crimes.

[Patrick Hines]

There's no reason for me to believe that my son was involved in any kind of crimes.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. Carol. He bought a house at 16. Girls.

[Patrick Hines]

Do you remember the time he was naked, hiding from the SWAT team in the closet, and they dragged him out of the house? Do you remember when he went to prison? Do you remember when he's been arrested? Carol?

[Julia Betavalli]

My mom's.

[Patrick Hines]

He bought a house in cash at 16 years old. Carol.

[Julia Betavalli]

My mom's wife, may she rest, her name was Carol. And my. One of my favorite memories of Carol is that she would walk down the stairs backwards because of her vertigo. She would walk down the stairs backwards.

[Patrick Hines]

How does that help vertigo?

[Julia Betavalli]

I don't know, but imagine like, you're sitting in a living room and then, like, you would turn to walk down the stairs, like, good night. She would, like, walk down backwards facing you. Bye. Bye, Carol.

[Patrick Hines]

That's spectacular.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. She had. Whenever I think of Carol, I remember her walking down the stairs backwards.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. She was a great lady.

[Patrick Hines]

That's amazing.

[Julia Betavalli]

A bus driver.

[Patrick Hines]

That would scare me. If I was over for a sleepover.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

I'd be like, what the fuck is she doing?

[Julia Betavalli]

I'd love to know the circumstances under which you were at Carol's house for a sleepover.

[Patrick Hines]

I don't know. I'm just saying, if I was at your house for a sleepover or something. And then it's like, why is she walking backwards down the stairs? Oh, my God. Like, what?

[Julia Betavalli]

But it really does elongate the goodbye at the end of, like, a holiday, you know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

Because you're kind of like.

[Julia Betavalli]

Cause you're just staring at her, watch.

[Patrick Hines]

Her the whole time. Right?

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. Okay.

[Patrick Hines]

It's like being front row at your friend's standup thing. You're just perform. You're a performer at that point.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know, I know.

[Patrick Hines]

You gotta laugh the loudest. You gotta be the most engaged.

[Julia Betavalli]

Every city I've done so far on my tour, I know all of the people in the front row. And it's so kind, but it's also terrifying.

[Patrick Hines]

It's a lot of work for the people in the front row. I say with love because I'm there to support.

[Julia Betavalli]

Hi. Katie and Andrea and Denver. You guys were the best. Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. But it's like, God forbid, I know you break eye contact or maybe you have, like one of those Yawns. That don't mean that you're tired. You just yawned and then it's like you see me from the stage or like be damned. You can't check your watch.

[Julia Betavalli]

Nope.

[Patrick Hines]

What are you bored? What do you. Can't wait to get out of here. You are performing more than your best friend. If you're in the first row of anything, you are performing more than the person on stage because you're performing a one person show for them.

[Julia Betavalli]

That is really, really true.

[Patrick Hines]

And you got. That's part of the gig. Happy to do it. But you can't. You can't go and then be like not, not into it. Not like really like it's that you can't do that. It's very transactional. Why would I even think my son would be arrested? I don't know, Carol.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

So the thing is though, Ramona's father really is super.

[Julia Betavalli]

He's very rich and he is taking.

[Patrick Hines]

Them to all these amazing place all around the world.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes. Now they. They're going to Vienna and they're going to this palace in Vienna which I have been to. Really?

[Patrick Hines]

It's like a private castle. No.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, the one that we see from the outside is. I think that the family does live there. But you can go and tour it. Which I did do. It wasn't my cup of tea. But why? I didn't really like Vienna. I was only there for a day and I went to. That was like the one thing I did was go to that place for the tour.

[Patrick Hines]

The big old castle was a snooze fest.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, it was kind of a snooze fest. What? I know I wasn't really into it, but he really likes it. And this is where he sees for the first time the Sissy story.

[Patrick Hines]

The. I have it. The CC star.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, but they say Sissy.

[Patrick Hines]

Do they?

[Julia Betavalli]

I related to it.

[Patrick Hines]

Well, it's Sisi, so I guess jokes on me. But it's 1999 and they're in Austria. And the thing about this CC star is that she was a famous empress. She was wonderful. She was beautiful. She had this like beautiful long hair and she would put these diamond stars in it. And there are famous paintings of her depicting this. And the look was iconic. It was like legendary. After Sissy's death and then after the.

[Julia Betavalli]

Monarchy, it was not quite clear where all the stars went. They were gone.

[Patrick Hines]

We had one of the stars with one of the original stars which Elizabeth.

[Julia Betavalli]

Wore was just a highlight of the exhibition. So these stars like remain and they're on display in this castle.

[Patrick Hines]

There is one star left. And so it was put on display in this museum in Vienna. And it's a really, really, really big deal. People come just to see that one remaining star because this woman was so stunning and the look was so legendary. I. Iconic, right?

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Thief sees it. My God, he wants it. He steals it. Steals it. Everyone in Austria is up in arms. No one can believe it. It took them three weeks to figure out it was missing, by the way, because he replaced it with a replica from the gift shop.

[Julia Betavalli]

Not the sharpest eye in the security guard, you know what I mean?

[Patrick Hines]

The replica from the gift shop.

[Julia Betavalli]

And they said.

[Patrick Hines]

But it still have the little price tag on it. 9.99.

[Julia Betavalli]

It looks like wildly different, apparently.

[Patrick Hines]

Does it?

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, a pair. A pair. That's what they say. Who was the guard who was like, you know what?

[Patrick Hines]

I guess. I guess it's like, you're not really, I guess, like a guard. You don't really care. Your job is to make sure it's not stolen. And maybe you're not, you know, maybe. I don't know.

[Julia Betavalli]

It takes him three weeks to realize it's gone.

[Patrick Hines]

So there are like a million different stories and rumors about how this supposedly happened. Did he parachute onto the roof? No.

[Julia Betavalli]

No.

[Patrick Hines]

Did he scale the walls and break in through a window also? No. He was, like, doing the guided tour.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right. And it is a bit of a magic trick because he does have to, like, lift the glass off the thing.

[Patrick Hines]

Very Indiana Jones with the weight thing.

[Julia Betavalli]

Because, like, if the weight distribution is often on an al. Sounds. But that didn't happen. So, like, like, they said it took three weeks to know that it was gone. So whatever he did, he did it in a way. I mean, my guess is that there isn't actually an alarm. You know what I mean? It's like, you know, beware of dog, but there's no dog, you know.

[Patrick Hines]

Wow. Yeah, well, he stole it for leverage, she says.

[Aaron]

Actually, I took it because I knew maybe someday this could be a bargaining tool for future crimes that I have planned. And it was a priceless item from a museum, and that's why I took it. Plus, it looked nice.

[Patrick Hines]

Next time he gets caught, he could be like, I'll give you this Austrian jewel if you let me go.

[Julia Betavalli]

This, like, priceless Austrian. Yeah, it's like a piece of Austrian history.

[Patrick Hines]

So it's like this beautiful diamond star as his get out of jail free card. I hope he's taking good care of it.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, I don't think he Is because we're going to find out where he's storing it. Like, that's what I think about the gardener art. Like somebody, somebody has it right now and are they taking care of it? They aren't. They definitely aren't. You know.

[Patrick Hines]

So eventually he gets divorced. Shocking. Because his wife learns about his life of crime and she's. She and her family are disgusted and she bails.

[Julia Betavalli]

Totally.

[Patrick Hines]

So he also wants his biological father to join his like stealing team, but his dad is way too busy with martial arts. And he shows us a few moves. They always do.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. They always says like the Canadian Wolverine or the Chuck Norris of Canada.

[Patrick Hines]

Nope.

[Julia Betavalli]

No.

[Patrick Hines]

Chuck Norris sucks.

[Julia Betavalli]

I. Oh my God.

[Patrick Hines]

That's a fact. Travel down the road.

[Julia Betavalli]

Back again, girl. Home chef is back. Look, this is the best way to have meal variety in your life. To, to save money, to not have waste, to take the guesswork out of meals. And eating. It's going to save 90% of the stress of your day.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. I didn't know how exhausting figuring out what to eat every night was going to be as an adult. I know. I love this because they have like oven ready meals. You can also make it from scratch, which is great. I love doing. But sometimes, depending on your week, there are microwavable meals. There are oven ready meals.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

So you have options.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. And people love it. Fam. Users of leading meal kits have rated Home Chef number one in quality, convenience, value, taste, and recipe ease. You know, we've used them all. Home Chef is by far our favorite.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. So they have the pre portioned ingredients or the quick 30 minute recipes or oven ready options or microwavable meals.

[Julia Betavalli]

Plus there's so much to choose from. A Home chef has over 30 options a week and serves a variety of dietary needs. There are days Steve will have to close the computer. Cause I'm just like basically shopping.

[Patrick Hines]

I know. And you could do it a couple weeks in a row and then either you look forward to it or you forget. And then you're so happy when it comes in the mail.

[Julia Betavalli]

And if you don't pick, they pick for you. And then it's like a big surprise prize. And that's sometimes the funnest thing too.

[Patrick Hines]

You don't have to pick, by the way. That's a good point. Like you will be getting meals, so.

[Julia Betavalli]

No matter what, try to stop them.

[Patrick Hines]

Or you can be like, I loved that one. I really want to have that again. Totally.

[Julia Betavalli]

By the way, it's super economical. Home Chef customers save an average of $86 per month on groceries. Think about it. You're not buying anything you don't need.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And saving your time and your patience is also invaluable.

[Julia Betavalli]

So fam. For a limited time, Home Chef is offering our listeners 50 off and free free shipping for your first box. Plus, this is my favorite free dessert for Life.

[Patrick Hines]

Go to homechef.com tco that's homechef.com tco.

[Julia Betavalli]

For 50% off your first box and free dessert for life. They're not kidding.

[Patrick Hines]

The best homechef.com TCO and you must be an active subscriber to receive free dessert. They're not just handing out free dessert.

[Julia Betavalli]

But I always say it's. You take it out of the box while you're putting stuff away, and you eat it right then and then.

[Patrick Hines]

Totally worth it. Just saying again, win, win, win, win, win.

[Julia Betavalli]

Totally.

[Patrick Hines]

So it's 2006. Angela James has entered the chat. She's his new girlfriend and accomplice.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. And she becomes important in a second because now we got to meet Sergey, or as Blanchard calls him, the boss.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And so basically, this boss guy, he's a real big fish, as they say.

[Julia Betavalli]

And, like, we're going to find out that he really is, like, he's like the head of an organization that funds terrorists in the Middle East.

[Patrick Hines]

He's, like, doing arms deals. It's really, really bad.

[Julia Betavalli]

Comes from the cops. Like, that doesn't come from. From Blanchard. So, like, this. This the boss guy is. But he's got access. He's like the credit card fraud king of Europe. And so he's giving Blanchard gigs. And Blanchard just, like, drops anything at a moment's notice to do the boss's bidding.

[Patrick Hines]

And so Angela, the girlfriend's like, I don't know. My mom probably won't let me. And so Gerald gets on the phone and explains it to her mother.

[Aaron]

I know this guy.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right.

[Aaron]

He basically gives you a stack of blank debit cards.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Aaron]

And you walk up to an ATM machine and you start withdrawing money from. From each of these blank cards.

[Patrick Hines]

Hey. And then what happens if you guys get caught out there?

[Aaron]

There is no getting caught because you have a magnet with you which will erase the card.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay, you promise me you'll keep an eye on her? No, no, she can go. You promise you'll keep an eye on her, though, with the ceiling and the arms dealing and the terrorism?

[Julia Betavalli]

Because the boss has a job for them in Cairo where they're gonna do, like, credit card fraud and steal from all these ATMs. Angela is terrified, Gets the mom on the phone, the mom's like, absolutely. His mother should be in prison.

[Patrick Hines]

Uh huh. So the stealing and then the stealing and my daughter's involved.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

What's she gonna do?

[Julia Betavalli]

Right?

[Patrick Hines]

She gon. No. You don't know. Okay, great.

[Julia Betavalli]

But the truth of it is I don't think Angela wants to do it. I think she's doing it at the bidding of her mother.

[Patrick Hines]

It's very weird because we don't hear from Angela and I was wondering, I was like, oh man, is she in two abusive, manipulative relationships? She is, because that's what it feels like to me.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

But there's another guy involved. His name is Bloom, AKA Ken. So it's Gerald, Angela and Bloom, Ken. And they're going to do this credit card fraud thing for the boss.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. So basically they get to Cairo and they like, what they're going to do is like they're given a bunch of ATM cards and they're going to go all around Cairo and just empty these ATMs using the cars and put all.

[Patrick Hines]

The cash in duffel bags and then go back to the hotel room and film it all. So we get a ton of footage of everyone in the hotel room making the plans, talking about the plans, showing off the cash.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh my God. Why are they doing that?

[Patrick Hines]

I don't know. But now Bloom, AKA Ken, they don't explain why his nickname is Ken, but he makes a really bad decision, or.

[Julia Betavalli]

A great one, because he gets not in trouble for it.

[Patrick Hines]

I guess not. So he steals some cards belonging to the boss.

[Julia Betavalli]

But like, this is where my butt got really clenched. Because this guy steals from the kingpin of the guy who does arms deals for terrorists in the Middle East.

[Patrick Hines]

That's why it's a bad decision. Yeah, because he steals money from this guy, keeps it all for himself and bails to Africa.

[Julia Betavalli]

Now the boss is not looking for this balloon guy. As far as he's concerned, this all comes down on Blanchard. Blanchard is on the hook for this guy that he brought on this job that now stole from the boss.

[Patrick Hines]

He has to go take care of it, whatever that means to you. So balloon Ken took the money, bought blood diamonds, jumped on a plane to Paris and was thrown in immigration jail.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right. But like, the boss doesn't care about that. He just wants his money back. He's now sent a team of people to babysit Blanchard and his people until he can get Bloom's money back.

[Patrick Hines]

Right.

[Julia Betavalli]

Like, this is terrifying. He's gonna be killed any minute.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah, because it turns out the boss is into much more than credit card fraud. And that's where we learned that he's the leader of a criminal organization funding terrorist activities in the Middle East.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes. Like this is a, like you don't mess with this guy.

[Patrick Hines]

Now for whatever reason, by the grace of God, Angela, the girlfriend is allowed to go home.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

I don't know how or why. I don't care.

[Julia Betavalli]

Good, get out of there.

[Patrick Hines]

And also can we figure out what happens so we can do that every time someone else, some other girlfriend needs to get the hell out of Dodge?

[Julia Betavalli]

I mean honestly. And what happen now? Because it was about $100,000 that this balloon guy stole from the boss. And so Blanchard says to the boss.

[Aaron]

Look, and it's my responsibility because he's my worker now, I might just cover the loss myself. This thing I'm working on is probably about 200 to 300,000 pound thing which should be done in the next 15 to 20 days. I've done it, I've done it before.

[Julia Betavalli]

Don't worry about him. Let me go back to Canada, I can hit this bank, get you $300,000 no problem. I just gotta go do it. So the boss lets him go. Now the way, remember the way this guy steals from these banks is that it takes months.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

Because he's got to like sit and watch everything, he's got to learn where everything is. He's got to like plant the seeds, he's got to undo this door and he's got to, you know, whatever. He's literally sitting in an air conditioning vent watching like a security guard when the boss calls him and wants him to take notes.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

And like I was laughing my head off. And we hear the call because all of his calls are tapped. And so we hear him say to the boss like I can't, I can't right now. I'm in, I'm in an air conditioning event.

[Patrick Hines]

I think it says and that he's in the event like 40 times.

[Julia Betavalli]

No, he's like, I'm watching it and the boss doesn't give a shit. He's like, my guys were arrested, I need you to find out. He's like, I can't get out of this air conditioning event until the security officer leaves.

[Patrick Hines]

But remember his phone is being tapped and Gerald the thief knows that because he used to be taunting the police.

[Julia Betavalli]

So now I'm imagining this scene of the boss screaming at him while he's in an, you know, he's got his hand over the receiver. So the security guard doesn't hand.

[Patrick Hines]

He cannot answer. But meanwhile, the cops are listening in on the wiretap. So the cops are thrilled.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

So because they know where he is. And now this is bad for the thief, obviously, because either he's dealing with the crime boss or he's dealing with the cops. Either way, it's a bad situation. And I'm like, girl, choices were made.

[Julia Betavalli]

I know. Because either, like, the crime boss is going to kill him or he's going to get arrested.

[Patrick Hines]

Because the cops are now realizing that Danny Gerald, the Thief Blanchard guy is brokering an arms deal via text. Why is he doing that? Because he's an asshole, that's why. Like in my notes, I'm like, this is so boring and stupid and I don't care.

[Julia Betavalli]

But also, like, I'm riffing it. I'm like, at the edge of my Z.

[Patrick Hines]

Go from, like, trading electronics for cash to fucking arms deals with terrorists via text really fast. Like, you're just a bad guy.

[Julia Betavalli]

But you know what it is? Remember when he was like, returning the shit for the cash and that wasn't enough, so he had to do bank Right now it's never enough. Now he's got a broker, an arms deal, like, that's got to be like the ultimate high for him if he can get that done.

[Patrick Hines]

And all via text. Like AK47, like bullets, photos, and it's all via text.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

It's so fucking stupid. And I'm like, this is the same guy from the beginning of the documentary where everyone was like, he's like James Bond but better. And I'm like, what?

[Julia Betavalli]

No, where am I? He's so stressed out. He, like, doesn't want to be doing any. Like, you would hear this. I love it when it switches and you can hear the stress in their voice.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. But the first 10 minutes were like, I am in awe of him. He's a genius.

[Julia Betavalli]

This is what always happens when it's not about the money and it's just about the bigger, bigger, bigger thing. You're brokering an arms deal with an international terrorist. What are you doing?

[Patrick Hines]

What ends?

[Julia Betavalli]

I know.

[Patrick Hines]

Idiots. So the cops catch him in the act of robbing the bank.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

And once they do that, that would mean that, like, all of the other warrants go into effect.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

And then the rest of the team would also be arrested. But that doesn' I noticed there was.

[Aaron]

A lot more police presence around that particular bank. There was always an undercover car sitting close by. So I decided to not do anything.

[Detective]

We found out later that he actually Was able to tap into the bank surveillance cameras at the bank and saw somebody look like a cop.

[Patrick Hines]

And the thief clocks them and he doesn't actually go and rob the bank.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

So the cops are like waiting for him to rob the bank because once he does, everything's in effect. And we got this guy.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

But the guy sees the cops because they're probably like do do do do do with like must fake disguises on. Like nothing to see here, but they've.

[Julia Betavalli]

Got the light on the top of.

[Patrick Hines]

The car even though the dogs are dressed in costume. So he doesn't actually rob the bank. So everything they were all excited to do to get this guy never happens. But they arrest him anyway.

[Julia Betavalli]

Mitch and Larry go to his house and then pull him out of bed. I think he's clothed this time. Thank God.

[Patrick Hines]

They're like, we had enough evidence. I guess we were just, we were so sick of waiting on this. Like, they're like, he's home. We know where he is. We're just arrested. We have all the texts. That's got to be something.

[Julia Betavalli]

They also arrest that guy, Aaron And Angela and 18 other people in Canada that are connected to this guy.

[Patrick Hines]

It's crazy.

[Julia Betavalli]

It's crazy. His mom is a wreck. She's sobbing to this day.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

He says to the camera, I'm sorry, but that first night in jail was the best night of my life. It was like the most stress free he's been in a decade.

[Patrick Hines]

You know what? Because they, like you were just saying they want to get caught.

[Julia Betavalli]

They want to get.

[Patrick Hines]

There's the relief of like not having a run.

[Julia Betavalli]

Totally.

[Patrick Hines]

So the cops are trying to get his, any one of his team or his friends to flip and Angela is the only one who does it.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

And she's like, I want him of my life. I don't want anything to do with him. He's a liar, he's heartless, he's selfish, he's greedy. I don't trust him. I hate him.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. And like Aaron, his other friend, is crying on the phone to his mother, talking about how scared he is. Girl, how did you think this was going to end? Like, how did you think this was going to end?

[Patrick Hines]

I don't understand.

[Julia Betavalli]

You thought you were just going to do this for the rest of your.

[Patrick Hines]

Life, But Angela's the one who's like, no, I'm scared of the Blanchard guy.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

She says, like, the guy this doc is about, he will find me. He. He's terrified. And she's like, I. You don't Want to see him when he's angry. I know.

[Julia Betavalli]

And, like. And he literally looks the camera. He's like, yeah, that's about right.

[Patrick Hines]

He goes, because she knows what I'm capable of.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

And it's like, are you doing that thing where you're being an asshole and you're lying about how powerful you are? Are you really this evil and abusive?

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, because he looks at the camera and he says things like that all the time. Like, there's a. There's a bit of sociopathy here. Like, I don't think this man has any empathy anywhere in his body.

[Patrick Hines]

No.

[Julia Betavalli]

You know, no.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, mom, those Christmas gifts weren't because he loved you. It's because he's rubbing your face in it.

[Julia Betavalli]

Exactly.

[Patrick Hines]

It's fun for him.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, Angela also is the one who tells the cops about the safe room behind the mirrors.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay, so the police. Angela gives them all the information.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

The police raid and destroy this guy's house.

[Julia Betavalli]

But I just wanted to say, like, that is like. I mean, imagine looking at a house from the outside, and you're like, wait. Like, if you really look at it, you're like, there's rooms missing. Like, if you see it from the outside and you go to the inside, you're like, there's. Hang on. There should be more rooms in here.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, weird.

[Julia Betavalli]

You know what I mean? Because it's like, there's, like, these rooms were hidden behind mirrors, so it's like.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

It's just like a weird. So, like she said, one night he literally climbed into the mirror and came back with all this money and stuff. So she knew that there was, like, secret hidden rooms in his house?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And guess what?

[Detective]

He kept records of everything he had done and what he'd bought. He had literally thousands of physical keys, video and memory sticks and phones, and there was cash and lots of it. He had the security guard uniforms, all his id, all his phony id. But more importantly, what the gem wore was all his video. And he videotaped everything.

[Patrick Hines]

Everything they need to make a case against him was just, like, in these two rooms, organized perfectly.

[Julia Betavalli]

Like, is it trophies? Why would he keep any of that stuff?

[Patrick Hines]

I don't know, but the defense lawyer is like, whoa, hold on a second, cowboy. May we interest you in a deal?

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Patrick Hines]

Full restitution. And those beautiful diamond stars that that lady wore in her hair that time.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes, because he's facing 168 years in prison. And remember when he said, I'm going to steal that star as the bargaining.

[Patrick Hines]

Chip get out of jail free card.

[Julia Betavalli]

And it literally is. They take him to his grandmother's house where it wrapped in styrofoam and hidden in a fucking wall. And Instead of the 168 years, he.

[Patrick Hines]

Gets eight, this makes national news. And he's loving the fact that he's making national news. He loves the attention. He's such an immature man, baby. Of course.

[Julia Betavalli]

But this is what it was all leading up to. It was never about the money. It was always about telling the world how, like, we. We are part of the problem.

[Patrick Hines]

We're covering the ego.

[Julia Betavalli]

We're covering the documentary about this guy.

[Patrick Hines]

I couldn't agree more. Like, all these articles being written in photo shoots, and he's like the shameless, entitled guy. He was enabled by his mother and everyone else, and he was lucky enough to be surrounded by cops who screwed up constantly.

[Julia Betavalli]

But it's like, we really do love, like, the ocean's 11 of it all, you know?

[Patrick Hines]

He's got everything he wanted. Yeah, he got everything he wanted.

[Julia Betavalli]

So did we. Like, we want. Like, we. We want to know. Like, it's good to watch the documentary because he is just a dirtbag loser. And he's like. Whereas, like, you see, like, George Clooney and Matt Damon, like, doing this and Brad Pitt and Ocean, and you're like, oh, my God.

[Patrick Hines]

And the original. The Rat Pack.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. And it's like, oh, he is just a loser. He's a loser, you know?

[Patrick Hines]

Well, that's why you make movies like Ocean's Eleven. Because it's a movie.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yes.

[Patrick Hines]

And it's like the Hollywood glamour. An old van Vegas. And that's like, I'll watch that movie.

[Julia Betavalli]

Apparently, they were gonna make a movie out of this guy's life story, and Zac Efron was gonna play him in the movie.

[Patrick Hines]

Poor Zac Efron.

[Julia Betavalli]

But you know what he would have been for? Like, he would have been perfect.

[Patrick Hines]

He would have been good. He's a great actor.

[Julia Betavalli]

He is.

[Patrick Hines]

No matter what Bob the Drag Queen says on Traders.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, he would.

[Patrick Hines]

Dylan, everyone. Traders. No spoilers. But Dylan Efron is on it.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, is that his brother Zach's brother?

[Patrick Hines]

He's very pilot Pete Vibes from last season, if you remember. Oh, my God. Anyway, so they're at the round table, and Dylan is like, I grew up with an actor. And Bob the Drag Queen goes, not a very good one. Even Dolores from Jersey Housewives was like, how dare you? How very dare you, fam.

[Julia Betavalli]

Are you watching Traitors get in the Facebook group. I want to hear about it.

[Patrick Hines]

But, yeah, he got everything he wanted and now he's free to keep doing it. Great job, everybody.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah, I mean, so Blanchard was indicted on 16 counts of theft and fraud, facing a maximum sentence of 164 years after detailing his crimes, surrendering the Sissy or CC Star and paying full restitution to the CIBC Bank. That was interesting.

[Patrick Hines]

That was interesting. That never happens.

[Julia Betavalli]

Well, but like, how much money did he have? And like, it must have been millions and millions. Like, he must have had it, like.

[Patrick Hines]

Stuffed away in the backyard because it wasn't about the money, I guess.

[Julia Betavalli]

Full restitution to the bank. He was sentenced to just eight years in prison and this too, as a condition of his guilty plea. None of his accomplices received prison sentences. Yeah, so he was like, he. He hooked Angela up.

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah. And also, to be totally cynical about it, he gets to be like, I did this all by myself a little bit.

[Julia Betavalli]

Right.

[Patrick Hines]

Like, I'm glad. I want Angela to be okay. But I think part of it was like, no, no, I did this totally. He wants to go.

[Julia Betavalli]

He was released from. On April 23, 2012. His mom is like, he's never personally.

[Carol]

Taken anything from anybody that he knows personally or family members. It's always been more like corporate America. And yes, I'm gonna say banks, because his attitude, and quite honestly, my attitude has always been the banks are legal criminals because they can do anything they want to do and they take money from people all the time.

[Julia Betavalli]

Fuck the banks. They're legal criminals.

[Patrick Hines]

Carol, you're lying to yourself and to others.

[Julia Betavalli]

I mean, he's a bad dude.

[Patrick Hines]

He's a bad dude. And in 2017. So he's out, right? So he was out in 2012. Now 2017, he was arrested for theft and pleaded guilty to one charge. And he received a six month conditional sentence at a three year probation period. And now he's just like, he's still out there doing.

[Julia Betavalli]

The reason he got caught in 2017 was they knew it was him because a car at the scene was rented in the name of one of his known aliases. Like, he's an idiot.

[Patrick Hines]

Don't call this guy mastermind, Please. Enough.

[Julia Betavalli]

Oh, my God, girl. We did the jewel.

[Patrick Hines]

The jewel thief.

[Julia Betavalli]

The jewel thief. Oh, my goodness. I love it.

[Patrick Hines]

I knew you would.

[Julia Betavalli]

I just like, I'm really into it, fam. Don't forget we have started to do full video episodes on YouTube. It's True Crime Obsessed on YouTube. Go watch it. We're so excited for you to see what we actually do in the booth all day. Is that wild?

[Patrick Hines]

Yeah.

[Julia Betavalli]

It's so exciting.

[Patrick Hines]

It's so exciting.

[Julia Betavalli]

We also have a book club if you'd like to join the. We've over 400 people in the book club.

[Patrick Hines]

Amazing.

[Julia Betavalli]

Get into the Facebook group. There's a pinned post. All you have to do is fill out the form. Sasha will be in touch and you are officially a member of the group. And also check out our Discord.

[Patrick Hines]

I love I'm in the Discord every day.

[Julia Betavalli]

And there's links to all of that stuff in the show notes of this episode.

[Patrick Hines]

And every day, Discord is like. I'm like, discord, where have you been all my life?

[Julia Betavalli]

I love a Discord queen.

[Carol]

I'm in.

[Patrick Hines]

I'm in there. I'm not a queen. Mean, but I'm a girly.

[Julia Betavalli]

Yeah. All right, great.

[Patrick Hines]

I'm in.

[Julia Betavalli]

We love you.

[Patrick Hines]

Okay. We love you.

[Julia Betavalli]

We'll see you on YouTube.

[Patrick Hines]

Oh, my God. We'll see you on YouTube.

[Julia Betavalli]

Wild.

[Patrick Hines]

Wow. All right.